Syrian Hamster behaviour?

[tippy24]

Hello,

As I study animal care at my college I do understand the way hamsters act and things about them ect ect.

I recently got a 4 week old Syrian hamster a week ago and I am worried about its behaviour? I know its new to its environment and everything however its mood has changed since we first got it.

On the first day it arrived I waited till it woke up in its own time which was 9PM which it ran around for a while and went back to sleep within 1 hour. in that time I spoke to him so he could begin getting used to my voice. As the days went on I started introducing him slowly to waking up around 6PM as this would be a good time for me to socialise with him. yesterday I was able to talk to him whilst stroking him and I attempted to feed him a treat and he bit my finger instead which is completely fine, I was just happy he came near my hand.

Today I let him out into his run in his own time and he ran and hid in a tunnel. I gave him a treat from my hand and he Jump ran, Took the treat really fast and ran and hid away again. I kept an eye on him however he wouldn't get out his toy tube so I used another treat to lead him out, I didn't give him the treat as I don't want to give him too many as he is just a baby.
After about 10 mins of him being out he ran back into his tube and wouldn't come out, he curled up into a ball and just stayed there. When i said his name or put my hand in the run he would Jump really hard. I thought it would be best if i put him back into his main cage and let him come out the tube in his own time. After 3 hours he is still curled up in a ball inside the tube and when i Gently call his name he will move and then curl back up?
I am going to leave him for today but I am quite worried about his behaviour.

Another thing i have been noticing is a couple of days after we got him he will move normally and also be making noises. Its not squawking its more like a little squeek but he does it when there is nothing there for him to be frightened about and I am not sure why he does this?

Should I just leave him for a couple of days to be alone and just replace his food / water and his bedding when I can?

I understand he is just a baby however I want him to be comfortable in his cage not scared and threatened.

[Thin Lizzy]

Leave him be, he's obviously still nervous. Replace his food and water.
As for the bedding, leave it as long as you can and when you do clean it make sure you hold some of the old bedding back to mix in with the new. This is so they can still smell their own smell.
Does he have a bit in his cage, he uses for his toilet all the time? If so do a spot check every couple days and leave some of the old wood shavings to mix in with the new. Again, it's so they can smell themselves.

You lured him out with a treat and then you didn't give him it and that's not the way. Try cutting up the treats into smaller pieces. Everytime he comes to you, praise him and treat him. Always talk to him so he gets use to your voice.
Try different treats like vegetables. Hamsters love cucumber!
The squeaking is him telling you he's nervous.
Hammies can sense your mood.
With some, taming can take longer, every hamster is different.

[Skeever]

Not to mention, at such an age, a tube is often a mistake. They hide and live in it, and it causes health and cleaning problems. Napping in a tube in one thing.....Pook did that because he is of a twisted little mind and likes sleeping upside down with his head sticking out at the bottom. I think he was pretending to be a bat. Mostly though, all my Syrians use them for is a passage way or nap place, not a hideaway.

Taming a hamster is probably the wrong term. More like they tame us to hang out with them?

[cypher]

Your ham is both very young & very new so you'll have to be patient with him!
I agree you need to let him settle for longer, just talk to him quietly until he's more used to you being near the cage, do that for couple more days at least before putting your hand into the cage (except for food & water).
Try putting a tissue up your sleeve or somewhere it will get your scent for a few hours & put that in the cage, repeat that daily for a while as that really helps them learn your scent isn't a threat to them,
Once he seems more settled then begin to introduce your hand with treats slowly, talking to him all the time & taking things at his pace. Don't try to rush things, there is no set agenda with taming, each one is different.

[tippy24]

Alright thanks guys, I am going to go slow and work on his confidence. I have noticed the later the time becomes the more open he becomes. Yesterday I let him wake up in his own time at 9PM and he came out and moved around healthily.

This morning I found that he took all the flakes from his food bowl and hid them all at the bottom of his cage, I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing however I am not going to desturb him. I will just keep refreshing the food and water. I will clean his cage but I wont clean too much so he will still have his bedding and food he has hidden.

How often should I take out the food that he has hidden? I don't think it would do him much good eating food that he has been storing for a while? Im not sure.

Thanks anyway.

[Skeever]

If its dry, it's fine. It's how they live in the wild. They hoard, they have entire caverns in their burrows filled with pounds of seeds. Kind of like that reality TV show cept these are hamsters and its usually only food or bedding or maybe a favorite chew toy they hoard.

They will hoard more or less in some cases based on many reasons.....change of seasons, environment, a regular feeding schedule.....and so on. Hoarding is simply something they do, nothing wrong with it.

Only food I remove is food stashed they have gotten wet or damp.....fresh produce I remove as soon as they get bored, no later than 24 hours though since it can turn.

[Skeever]

Double posting all day now? This software needs a good kick in its stubby little tail

[cypher]

Hamsters really don't like being woken up! He will do a lot better if you allow him to get up when he's ready, once he's used to you it is possible to gradually tempt them out just a little earlier each day, either by tapping on their house or rustling a food bag & then feeding them at that time but I'd let him settle first.

As Skeever said hoarding is natural, if you want your ham to be happy & feel secure don't touch it! Obviously you need to keep an eye out for any fresh veg or other food that can go off in case that gets stashed but otherwise leave well alone, they need a food hoard & it's fine for them to eat from that.
Even when you clean the cage (which you shouldn't need to do for a while, you can just spot clean any wet bits) leave some of the food hoard where you found it or replace it with fresh food.

[tippy24]

Ah, great news. Yesterday he woke up by himself at 6PM and I have never seen him act the way he did. He was all adventrous and active and looking really healthy with his ears all the way up.
I think the problem was that he was really tired. I got him from the pet shop and he only arrived there 2 hours before i got him!

I think he is feeling more settled now so its all good. I have seen him eating a good amount and also drinking which is a relief! Yesterday he didn't show the need to hide and he was everywhere.

I let him into his run area with new toys and I was so happy to see him running around having a play. He didn't mind me stroking him and he was really curios to sniff my hand which i was pleased about.

He came over to me as i called his name and i gently put my hand down with a treat on it. He went straight on my hand without biting me and i cupped my hands without picking him up just yet so he could get the feeling.

I am so happy he is much healthier! Thanks for the tips and help guys.

[Thin Lizzy]

This is great Tippy!
Keep up the good work.
It's amazing what a little patience does!
What's his name?